The Formation of Duel Academy
by K5Rakitan
Summary: Ever wondered about the early days of Duel Academy? It turns out that Mokuba was the original chancellor and played a vital role in the school's formation. Two-shot.
1. Landing

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. This is just for fun.

**Chapter 1 Landing**

Mokuba's private helicopter touched down in front of a big yellow building. Several students gawked at the craft, but a blond man in ruffles and purple lipstick screamed at them and they scattered.

Mokuba's brown leather hiking boots pressed into the earth under his heavily muscled body, and he greeted Professor Crowler cordially. "You really didn't have to ask them to leave. I would like to talk to the students sometime to get their perspective on how this school is being run."

The thirty-year-old teacher waved his hands. "Oh no! There's no need to do that, Chancellor Kaiba. I can tell you everything you need to know. The students are too upset over the recent incident anyway."

"Incident?"

"Well, as you know the old manor became structurally unsound and we had to throw up this," Crowler gestured to the yellow building behind him, "temporary lodging structure to house all the students. What you may not know is that last night two roommates had a disagreement and one of them snuck back to her old room in the manor. Long story short, we lost her."

Mokuba's face grew pale. "You mean she _died_?"

Crowler waved his hands again. "Oh no! Nothing like that. She just lost a leg when that section of the building collapsed in her sleep. We found her the next day, and expelled her for breaking the roles."

"That's a little harsh. Don't you think losing a leg was punishment enough?"

"She was a problem child, always breaking some rule or other. This was the last straw!" Crowler explained.

"Oh." Mokuba was tempted to make a case for the girl, but he did not have enough detail. Breaking the rules could be a good thing if the rules themselves were unfair, but he had reviewed and approved all of Duel Academy's rules himself. Questioning them would only open a can of worms.

"Well. Let's take a look at the new dorms, shall we? I believe you'll find them to your liking. We have located the girls' dorm over the hot spring, but I'd like to suggest that professors be given access to those magical healing waters as well. It would do wonders for my skin," the vain man gushed.

Mokuba started heading in the direction of the new dorms. A trail had been blazed through the dense forest, making the going much easier than the first few times he visited. He thought of his own daughter and niece. Someday they would attend this school, and he did not want perverted teachers splashing through the hot springs with them. Not that he had any proof that Crowler was perverted, but he was certainly eccentric. In fact, he felt he had more to worry about from the teachers who appeared perfectly normal on the surface. At least Crowler was not afraid to show his feminine side.

Mokuba could not say the same about himself or his brother. As a strapping young man of 178cm with dense muscles that brought him to almost 80kg, he felt that wearing a dress would draw too much attention not only to himself, but to his family. Seto liked to wear dresses in private, but the trench coats he sported in public spoke of masculine power. That was the image they had to project as CEO and Vice President of Kaiba Corporation.

Crowler was gazing at Mokuba hopefully now. "Well, it would only be fair to schedule soaking time for everyone. We can have certain hours for girls only, certain hours when only boys are allowed, and certain hours for professors."

Crowler squealed with delight and thanked Mokuba profusely. Then, he started coming up with creative ways to revoke soaking privileges for problem students. The man practically had a fetish for discipline. Mokuba made a mental note not to pick him as his replacement for chancellor.

The island was peaceful, quite literally a haven from the outside world. The only satellite that monitored the area belonged to Kaiba Corporation, and it provided the students with an intranet with only limited access to the internet. There were ways to get full internet access, of course. Seto did not believe in censoring information from smart children, and _his_ daughter counted as smart. Mokuba wasn't so sure he would give his own daughter full internet privileges when she got to Duel Academy, but then again she was only two and Mokuba had plenty of time to decide.

When Mokuba reached the construction site of the new dorm for girls, he was thoroughly impressed. The steel frame towered high above the tree line. It appeared to be roughly twice the size of the Kaiba Mansion, and so it should be; it would be housing more people. Mokuba did not know the precise size of his own dwelling, but the blueprints for the dormitory showed a total of 8,962 square meters of floor space to lodge 90 girls, or 180 if they were willing to share rooms. The ground floor of the dormitory included a ballroom, dining hall, library, study lounge, and of course a spa with water piped directly from the hot spring they had found during the geological survey of the island.

Mokuba meandered around the constructions site with Crowler at his heels. He pulled up his own personal copy of the plans on his smart phone and compared them with the locations of the beams he could observe in real life. He touched the steel and inspected the joints, not knowing what to look for but just sensing that things were running smoothly.

A foreman noticed the strangers pacing his construction site and approached them. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

Crowler flourished the ruffles on his sleeves. "Don't you know who this is? This is Mokuba Kaiba, the Chancellor of Duel Academy and the Vice President of Kaiba Corporation."

Mokuba pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think I can introduce myself."

The foreman smiled. "Well Mr. Kaiba this is a pleasant surprise. We're honored that you and your brother came to visit."

Mokuba glanced at Crowler. He had the same height and slim build as Seto, but his posture was off. The long, dramatic coat and boots resembled Seto's, but Seto used belts instead of ruffles to embellish his outfits. Both faces were young, but Crowler's was longer with a rounder chin and sharper cheekbones. Then there was the voice. How could anyone mistake Crolwer's high-pitched pandering to Seto's confident assurances? Then again, maybe this man simply did not pay much attention to celebrities. He had probably heard that the Kaiba brothers often did business as a team and worked together, but not that Seto was busy taking his daughter to her first day of school.

"Oh. This is actually Dr. Crowler. He's a professor here," Mokuba explained.

The foreman laughed uncomfortably. "I see. We've been so hard at work here we have not gotten a chance to meet the regular folks on this island."

"I can tell," Mokuba agreed, "it looks like you are right on schedule according to the timetable I have."

"Would you hurry it up? The students are getting restless," Crowler snapped.

Mokuba put a hand on Crowler's arm to silence him. "We appreciate you doing things in a timely fashion, but please don't cut any corners. My niece is going to attend this school one day and I want to make sure that the building is still sound when she gets here. There was an incident with the old dorm recently where a student was seriously injured. I'd like to make sure that _never_ happens again. I want this building to last fifty -no -two hundred years."

The foreman nodded. A glimmer of recognition flashed through his deep brown eyes. "Understood, Mr. Kaiba. I have kids myself, and I wouldn't let them sleep in an unsound structure."

Mokuba's heart raced for a few seconds. The man seemed to _know_ that Mokuba also had a daughter. Call it paternal instinct. At least he had no way of confirming the truth, and probably would not take it upon himself to investigate anything else about Mokuba's family. "Thanks," was all that he could manage to say.

The foreman then proceeded to describe the materials and methods they were using to assemble the building. Much of it sounded like Greek to Mokuba, but what little he understood sounded very reassuring. The foreman introduced a few of the other workers as well, giving Mokuba a picture of the smooth, efficient operation. He told the foreman that he would be on the island for a few days and gave told him to call his cell phone in case he needed anything.

Mokuba thanked the foreman and moved on the next construction site, hiking along another trail through the forest. This one was wider, and was used to transport construction materials from one site to the other.

There was a different foreman supervising the construction of the boys' dorm, and Mokuba had a long chat with him as well. This time, he had enough background information to ask some intelligent questions. After comparing the second construction site with the first and referencing the layout on his smart phone again, Mokuba was thoroughly satisfied with the progress.

It was as he expected. Hovinac Enterprises, the construction company, came highly recommended by Mr. Spline, the only CEO Seto and Mokuba trusted. Mokuba just needed to confirm that they were up to the task. Now that the easy part of his trip was over, it was time to get down to business. First, he needed a good night's rest.

Crowler led Mokuba to the main instructional facility where Nurse Imelda, an old and tired woman, set him up with the best cot in the infirmary. There was simply no other place on the island where he could get a room all to himself. Mokuba could have taken the jet, but Seto also had a round of business trips this week that he had been putting off while he prepared his daughter for her first day of school.

Instead of thinking about his meeting with the chancellor the next day, Mokuba drifted off to sleep thinking about his own daughter and lonely wife. He and Seto tried to coordinate their business trips so that they would be gone on separate nights, but in this case, it was unavoidable. Duel Academy was Mokuba's pet project, and the lodging situation needed immediate attention.

**Closing Note: ** Janet Kaiba, Seto's daughter, is my character, but she is also being used by Cosmic Kiss in Jaden's Twin Sister. Mokuba's daughter, Sarah Kaiba, may show up eventually. Check out her story to read more about the next generation!

Oh, and in case you were wondering who Mokuba's wife is, you'll have to read my other stories to find out! I don't want to give you any spoilers now.


	2. Observing

**Chapter 2 Observing**

Mokuba watched a large, prematurely baling man explain the concept of infinity to his students. The man had a warm, genuine smile and the students seemed to be paying more attention to him than they did to their other professors. This impressed Mokuba, especially since neither the students nor Professor Sheppard knew he was there.

Mokuba had staked out a corner of the lecture hall early in the day and disguised himself holographically. A little pile of ventilation system repair equipment marked off by caution tape prevented students and teachers from compromising his position to the left of the blackboard. The space afforded him a clear view of the teachers, but more importantly the students. He needed to know whom they respected and whom they did not.

Until now, Mokuba had assumed most of the administrative tasks himself. However, the dual pressures of a growing student body and his family convinced him to put someone else in charge.

Professor Sheppard seemed like the best candidate for chancellor so far. He had lots of energy, a kind heart, and he commanded respect from his students. Even Mokuba found himself captivated by the lecture. He leaned forward in his seat, breaking the plane of his holographic box with his face.

It took several minutes for the students to notice him, but when they did, the screams pierced the air. "Phantom!"

Mokuba lost his balance on the chair and tumbled forward. All but his ankles and feet sprawled on the floor in front of the holographic box. He looked and felt ridiculous.

Professor Sheppard quieted the students with a wave of his hand. "Chancellor Kaiba! Welcome. I heard you were on campus today, but I didn't realize you were observing my class."

Mokuba felt like a student caught doing something naughty instead of the chancellor. Sheppard really was that good! Mokuba slid his feet out of the holographic box and righted himself. "Oh, don't mind me! I'm evaluating all the professors today. If you could keep quiet about this until the day is over, I would appreciate it."

"Scout's honor," Sheppard promised, holding up the sign.

Mokuba set his chair back in the box while the students watched in fascination as it disappeared. "Thanks," he said before vanishing.

"Do you need anything in there? Water? Snacks?" Sheppard asked.

"No thanks. I've got it handled." Mokuba made a thumbs up gesture and stuck it through the holographic plane.

"As I was saying," Sheppard continued, "certain monsters can be made to have infinite attack points…"

The students became absorbed in Sheppard's lecture again, and by the end they had forgotten that Mokuba was there. They filed out past the caution tape without giving it a single glance, contemplating how the professor had just rocked their world.

The next professor had long black hair tied in a ponytail and walked around with his eyes closed most of the time. He also appeared to be not much older than the students. Mokuba reviewed the professor's files on his smart phone to find that he had an impressive resume despite his eccentricities and lack of years. Professor Banner had a knack for discovering rare artifacts all over the world-animals too, apparently. The man sported an orange kitten he had found in Egypt and named Pharaoh. Mokuba was tempted to stop the class and call for the removal of the animal, but felt it was not worth blowing his cover again. He had two more classes to go, and he did not want word of his presence to get around. It was important to observe the teachers in their natural environments where they would not try to hide their flaws from him

Crowler came next, and his shrill voice gave Mokuba a headache. At least it kept most of the students awake. Crowler also played favorites, humiliating the students he thought of as "slackers" and praising the ones he thought would become professional duelists. Mokuba had no worries that his daughter and niece would be on Crowler's short list, but he also felt sorry for the other students.

The last teacher spoke in a monotonous tone that put over half the students to sleep. The ones who stayed awake did so by taking copious notes, or maybe they were drawing. Mokuba could not be certain. One thing was clear, though. The professor really did know his subject. If Mokuba had not already known everything about dueling history himself, he would have found it interesting. However, he found himself drifting… checking his e-mail… drifting… sending a text message to his wife… drifting…

Mokuba woke to an empty classroom. He checked the time on his phone. Oh no! He was _late_! He jumped up and dashed through the halls of the school until he reached the auditorium panting.

After checking his reflection in the restroom adjacent to the main arena, he walked in to an eagerly waiting crowd. They cheered at his arrival, probably wondering what took him so long.

Mokuba approached a microphone on a stand. Unlike his older brother, he did not have an itch for attention. He simply wanted to make his message known. "Thank you students of Duel Academy. As many of you know, I have had trouble fulfilling my duties as chancellor here. I have been absent during times of need and for that I am sorry. I simply cannot fulfill my duties both here and at Kaiba Corporation.

"That is why I am stepping down as chancellor and passing this title on to someone I can rely on. Over the past several days, I have examined every staff member for the position. There were many excellent candidates, and in the end I found one professor who showed exceptional leadership skills. Therefore, it is with the utmost confidence that I present to you Chancellor Sheppard!"

A roar of approval came from the students as Sheppard came up to the microphone, Mokuba shook his hand and stepped aside. Sheppard gave a modest, but firm acceptance speech, which drew more applause from the students. Duel Academy had just entered a golden era during which it would thrive for decades.


End file.
